Speed camera no insurance

luciano

Hello guys,

I'm in a strange situation. I usually leave my car at my friend's place when I go to work. He is free to drive it if he likes (I leave keys with him). He shared my car with his college from abroad for a one day. The guy got flashed by a camera and I got a letter.
It wouldn't be a big issue but the guy who got flashed didn't have an insurance to drive my car! He didn't know as in his country insurance is attached to a car instead of a driver.
Now he is back abroad and I have to report him. First of all will they bother with somebody from outside the UK? Will they find out he didn't have an insurance and will try to bring him to justice? And finally, am I taking any responsibility for that?

scotsbob

luciano wrote: »

Now he is back abroad and I have to report him. First of all will they bother with somebody from outside the UK? Will they find out he didn't have an insurance and will try to bring him to justice? And finally, am I taking any responsibility for that?

Yes, you have a legal obligation to name the driver.
Yes, a quick search of the MID database will show who is entitled to drive your car.
Yes, they can pursue people overseas. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1216665/Holidaymakers-pay-EU-speeding-fines-home-UK.html

Did he have your permission to drive the car or did he take it without the owner's consent? If the latter then he has committed another offence.

patman99

Report him and leave the rest up to the Police. I am assuming you had no prior knowledge of this persons intention to drive your car?. If thats the case, and your friend simply assumed it was ok to let his mate drive your vehicle without first checking, then not only will your friends mate get in trouble for driving without insurance, but your friend will also get in trouble for knowingly allowing an uninsured driver to drive the car.

If you do not report the person, then you will be done for allowing an uninsured driver to drive your car. This will affect your future insurance premiums.
To avoid getting done yourself, you need to do the correct thing and tell the truth. As the uninsured driver was a non-UK resident, then s/he will probably be arrested if he sets foot in the UK any time in the future.

As for your friend, I feel s/he will not be making this mistake again after the Police have dealt with him/her.

Sgt_Pepper_2

Technically its a twoc or you permitted the no insurance, so expect 6-8 points yourself.

Sgt_Pepper_2

patman99 wrote: »

Report him and leave the rest up to the Police. I am assuming you had no prior knowledge of this persons intention to drive your car?. If thats the case, and your friend simply assumed it was ok to let his mate drive your vehicle without first checking, then not only will your friends mate get in trouble for driving without insurance, but your friend will also get in trouble for knowingly allowing an uninsured driver to drive the car.

If you do not report the person, then you will be done for allowing an uninsured driver to drive your car. This will affect your future insurance premiums.
To avoid getting done yourself, you need to do the correct thing and tell the truth. As the uninsured driver was a non-UK resident, then s/he will probably be arrested if he sets foot in the UK any time in the future.

As for your friend, I feel s/he will not be making this mistake again after the Police have dealt with him/her.

it would be the op in trouble not the friend.

Arg

Sgt_Pepper wrote: »

Technically its a twoc or you permitted the no insurance, so expect 6-8 points yourself.

It's neither.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

if at the time your "mate" let him have a go and blasted past a camera van, your mate was in no position to allow him to have ago you have no worries about getting points for permitting as you did not permit, your mate did wrongly and as such will land up with 6-8 points for permitting because he was the only one who had permssion and responsablity falls on him when in custody of your vehicle.

i would deny your mate had any authority to allow anyone else to drive it, and deny you knew his mate drove it till this came to light, pass on your mates-mates details to the police, and let them chase him.

some mate!

Lum

Sgt_Pepper wrote: »

Technically its a twoc or you permitted the no insurance, so expect 6-8 points yourself.

This.

If you nominate a foreign national as the driver, they will generally ask for proof of insurance and look into going after you for cause/permitting driving without insurance if you cannot provide it.

Only option I can think of that doesn't involve lying and wouldn't immediately drop yourself in it would be to nominate your friend as the person in charge of the car at the time. It's then your friend's problem that he allowed someone to drive your car without insurance. From the story you have posted this would seem to be an accurate reflection of the facts?

Your friend may then choose to lie about who the driver was, but that is none of your concern and I would stay out of it.

Is the driver from an EU country?

luciano

One more question. I was allowing my friend to drive my car. He said he has an insurance which covers all cars. It just turned out it expired some time ago. So apart from the main issue am I also guilty of allowing my car to not insured person?

ps. if I insure my friend now will they find out about it anyway? I mean is it 100% sure they will know?

Lum

If you can prove that you, in good faith, believed your friend to be insured then you have not committed that offence.

If you continue to allow your friend to drive the car now that you know you will be committing an offence. I would suggest not leaving your friend with the keys until he shows you an insurance certificate that covers this car.

If you leave him with the keys but tell him not to drive it, other than to move it around on his driveway or other private land, and he chooses to drive it on the road anyway, we're back to TWOC.

Sgt_Pepper_2

Arg wrote: »

It's neither.

So who allowed the 3rd party to drive?
Not the owner of the vehicle.